


I've put a spell on you (and I'm sorry, I made a mistake)

by bluereadingdolphin



Category: Original Work
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Other, Witch Curses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:33:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27737701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluereadingdolphin/pseuds/bluereadingdolphin
Summary: Avery the witch spends most of their time alone, hidden away in their woodland cottage. The townsfolk don't like them, and they've decided it's better that way.Then they meet the Princess, and make a bad decision, and something in the world changes.
Relationships: Leah/Avery
Kudos: 4





	I've put a spell on you (and I'm sorry, I made a mistake)

**Author's Note:**

> The title is a mess but I couldn't think of anything better. Leave a comment with suggestions or whatever ghfhshs.

Dark clouds coil around the woods, winding in and out of branches and casting a dark pall over everything inside. The uneducated among the people in the town outside may put it down to a freak weather incident, but everyone knows what it really means. They whisper it to their children to keep them well behaved, in bedtime stories and shouting matches. The witch is going to curse someone.

The witch - or Avery to their very few friends - is very well aware of the rumours that circulate around them. They don't do anything to stop them either; if anything they encourage the whispers and suspicious sideward glances. It keeps people away from them, and alone is the way they prefer to be. Honestly, the swirling clouds are mostly for effect. They're barely even magic - but they keep the townspeople out of the forest when Avery wants to be left alone, and that works for them.

The pot in front of them swirls and bubbles, casting a faint green light over their face. They push a strand of hair out of their face, once again being reminded of the fact that it is now a painful shade of bubblegum pink due to an incorrectly cast spell earlier that week. They're still deciding whether they like it or not: it  _ might _ look nice but it also reminds them constantly of a mistake they've made, and for some reason people think it looks cute.  _ She _ had, especially. Not for the first time, Avery thinks back to that moment a mere week ago, and glares at their reflection in the liquid inside the cauldron.

It was raining. That should have been enough to keep other people out of the forest, and give the witch a well deserved day of rest. It wasn't. The darling Princess Leandra Seandran had decided she was going to take a walk in the forest today, and the torrential rain didn't appear to be stopping her. Avery had come across her and her entourage of guards while picking mushrooms, and immediately turned on their heel to avoid the group. They had enough to think about without rich people trying to get involved in anything they were doing. And yet. A guard had called out to them:

"Hey! You, with the pink hair!" Shoulders tense, Avery had turned around.

"Yes?"

"We appear to be awfully lost, I'm very sorry. Could you point us in the direction of the road out of the forest?" The princess glared at the guard, who glowered back.

Avery considered her, and considered the several heavily armed men surrounding her. Then they waved an arm in the general direction of the exit, and turned to walk away again. 

"Oh, I was rather hoping you might show us. We're really very sorry for the bother." The princess had given such a vapid giggle that Avery still thought about it in the middle of the night when they woke up in a cold sweat. Once again they'd thought about the weapons those guards were holding, then they shrugged and started walking in the direction of the path without looking to see if they were following behind them.

What followed were the most excruciating twenty minutes of small talk Avery had ever experienced. The Princess Leandra-but-you-can-call-me-Leah didn't seem to comprehend that their silence didn't indicate shyness or awe at her princessly majesty, and insisted on talking non-stop about any butterfly of a thought which crossed her mind, in what seemed to be an attempt to make them feel more comfortable. It was  _ exhausting _ . Avery now knew more than they ever wanted to about all the people vying for her hand in marriage, who the various nobles were sleeping with, and Leah's horse.

"His name is  _ Buttercup _ !" Leah had exclaimed with far more joy than was really appropriate for a day as rainy and miserable as this one.

When they had  _ finally  _ parted ways, Leah had called after them:

"I love your hair, by the way! It makes you look really cute!" She'd then rode away on Buttercup, cheeks pink (due to the exercise, or the cold, or both, of course). And Avery did their best to put that horrible, mind numbing encounter from their mind.

They realise they're glaring at the liquid in the pot in front of them like its the dear Princess herself. They exhale slowly, releasing the death grip they have on the sides. It's almost done, anyway, so they can leave it for a moment in favour of finding the book of curses among the pile of paper and books that litter their desk. Someone's long forgotten face whispers in their mind that they really ought to clean it up, but they steadfastly ignore it. The idea for this particular curse had actually come from the princess herself. The time she  _ hadn't  _ spent talking about her horse, she had spent complaining about her endless line of suitors, and how her dads were really pressuring her to pick one, and she just didn't feel like she could get married yet! So, the witch is going to fix that problem. Not out of the kindness of their heart, not really, but just to inconvenience her.  _ Hopefully it'll get her to stay out of the forest too,  _ they think, finally finding the book beneath a jar of  _ something _ blue. They hold it out over the cauldron, careful not to drop it in, and start to recite. 

“All men and women born, shall from this day your presence scorn….” It’s long, and as they speak the cauldron shifts colours from green to bright pink, to deep black, to grey. Finally, they shut the book and place it down next to them, and smile at their reflection in the glossy liquid. 

Over in the next town, the princess feels ice run through her veins for a second, freezes briefly in her tracks, and then shakes herself and continues with her day.

A knock sounds at the door of the cottage, and Avery looks up from the plant they're studying with a growl. 

"Hello? Is this the residence of Avery the witch?" A voice drifts through the door, and they stand up with a start. The princess is here? Oh, this will be the perfect time to gloat. 

"I'm on my way! There better not be guards out there to kill me and take me to the dungeons or whatever. Oh, and it’s just Avery." They wander over to the door, picking their way through the maze of books and jars which litter the floor.

"No, no guards. I only wish to speak with you." That makes them raise their eyebrows, as they finally reach the door. “And my apologies, I was not sure how you prefer to be addressed.”

"Why the formality?" They ask, pulling it open to see the princess standing on their doorstep. True to her word, there's no guards to be seen, although Avery suspects there's probably some waiting around the corner. Leah doesn't appear to be massively upset, which is frankly a little disappointing. But her golden curls are still in their usual style, and she's still dressed in her usual comfortably fashionable way. They mentally reprimand themselves for knowing that this is the way she usually dresses, and try to pay attention to her answer. 

"Well if you must know, I'm rather nervous."

"You become  _ more  _ posh when you're nervous? Wow, that must be difficult." Avery responds dryly. "You can come in if you want. I promise not to push you into an oven or anything."

“Oh. Good to know?” Leah steps inside and waits in the doorway as Avery walks back over to their table.    
“Try not to knock anything over!” They call over their shoulder. Leah winces, and does her best to follow. 

“So. How can I help you.” Avery rests their elbows on the table, steepling their fingers and smirking. 

“You cursed me?”   
“I did! I’m  _ so _ glad you noticed.”

“Uh. I’d rather like not to be cursed, actually.”   
“Understandable.” Avery leans back in their chair. “So, anything else?”

“Can you de-curse me please?”

“Why? You spent most of our interaction last week complaining about all of your suitors.” They tilt their head, and Leah squirms.   
“I know. But - my dad got really ill suddenly, and his last wish is to see me married or in love, and I don’t know how long he’s got left so I just - I need to find someone.” Her shoulders shake a little, and she uses a sleeve to wipe tears out of her eyes. 

“Huh.” Avery is struck a little dumb, and something in their chest wrenches as they mentally run through spells they know. She'd be willing to marry someone she didn't know or like, just to fulfil her dad's dying wish? Aside from the thought that getting married like this was never going to do her future any good, that's a kind of determination the witch can respect.

“I’m sorry, I know all of my talking is probably what caused you to get annoyed in the first place, but I just need this one thing and then I’ll leave you alone forever. I’ll even make it a decree or something if you want, I just -”   
“Hey, okay, chill out. I’ll help you, as long as you stop crying.” They roll their eyes, but the hand out of Leah’s sight is clenched into a tight fist. 

“ _ Thank you. _ ” She looks like she might start crying again, and they hold up a hand.

“One problem. I don’t know if I have the spell to uncurse you in here. But I know where to find it, so that will only add a little time. I’ll even give you something to make your dad feel better.”   
“It’s not poison?” Leah asks, looking nervously up at Avery, who blinks.

“ _ Obviously _ not.”

"You  _ did  _ curse me."

"I will grant you that one, Bubbles."

"Bubbles?" Leah raises an eyebrow, and Avery shrugs.

"Feels fitting. I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Oh! I was rather thinking that you would be...able to do it yourself?"

"No can do. I've got to have you around for the actual decursing bit." 

"I'll. Be there, then. Okay." 

"See ya." Avery waves, and Leah leaves the cottage. Once she's gone, they hide a book on ways of remotely undoing curses under a pile of other books, and go about finding anti loveless curses.

It's the next day, and the princess arrived as she said she would. The inside of Avery's cottage is even messier than it was before, with open books strewn over every available surface (including most of the floor).

"So. Bad news." Avery spins a wand between their fingers, squinting at the page in front of them.

"Oh dear." Leah is standing a little awkwardly - the chair she had yesterday is currently occupied by an enormous leather bound tome. 

"I'm going to need some ingredients from up in the mountains. And  _ you _ have to pick them."

"Why?"

"Because in this instance, I'm dissolving our ill will by allowing you to contribute to the spell, which I normally wouldn't do. So you need to pick the flowers." They close the book with a snap, and turn around to look at Leah. "So what do you say to a field trip?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Absolutely not! Let's go."

“How are we -”   
“Walking, bubbles. It’s not that far, don’t worry.” They stride out of the door, and Leah trails behind.

“So, what kind of person are you looking for?” Avery asks, half an hour into the hike up to the flowers they need. 

“I’m sorry?”   
“Come on, don’t tell me this isn’t what you noble people gossip about? Dream partner and all that?”

“Ah. Never really had the opportunity to, I suppose.”   
“Not even with maids and all that? Do you not have people that are paid to be your friends?”   
“No. I don’t.” Leah’s hands have retreated deep into the sleeves of her jumper. 

“...Any reason why?” Avery tries again.

“Dads tried to keep me as protected as they could. That meant me being shut in at home most days, and only being allowed out with a crowd of guards to stop me from doing anything dangerous or talking to...dangerous people.”   
“So  _ that’s  _ why that guard looked so annoyed when you talked to me.”   
“I suppose so, yes.” Leah looks distinctly unhappy about the way this conversation is going. 

“Is that also why you were taking a walk in the middle of a rainstorm?”   
“...yes.”   
“You must really not get out much if you were willing to be in that weather, huh.” Avery looks sidelong at her, and she averts her eyes. There’s a weighted pause, broken by Avery. “So, let’s do it now.”   
“You go too fast sometimes.” Leah frowns at them.   
“Dream partner! Go on, even if you haven’t talked about it, you must have  _ thought  _ about it at least.”

"I...never really thought I'd be able to marry someone based on who I liked." Leah starts, haltingly. "But I suppose someone who...understands me? Would be nice?" She exhales. "This is stupid. I'm just going to marry the first person who asks"

"How long does he have left?" Avery asks, carefully. Leah looks up.

"Anywhere between days and a month. No more than that."

"I'm - sorry, Leah."

"You couldn't have known." She shrugs. 

The rest of the walk is silent. Avery points out the flowers they need, and Leah gives them a handful of blush-pink petals. 

It's silent on the way back, too, until Leah shakes her head and speaks. 

“What about you?”   
“Huh?”   
“Dream partner, right? What are  _ you  _ searching for?” 

“Haven’t really thought about it much either.” Avery answers, eyes fixed on the ground. “Since I’m - you know.” They make a general gesture at themselves. “Didn’t really think I’d be the kind of person people wanted to get to know.”

“Oh.” She hesitates. "I get that, I think."

"You're a  _ princess _ , bubbles."

"But I never thought I'd get to  _ chose _ ."

"Oh _. _ "

"Yeah."

"If your guards saw this they'd be real angry, huh." Avery laughs a little.

"What do you mean?"

"A princess and a witch? Hardly a societally approved friendship, right?"

"Are we friends now?" Leah jokes.

"I suppose we are. Speaking of - where  _ are  _ your guards?"

"They don't want to be around me right now, and so much is going on at the caste that I can get away rather easily at the moment."

"Wait, it's not just romantic people who don't want to be around you?" Avery stops in their tracks.

"Yes? I thought that was your intention?" Leah stops too, and looks at them in confusion.

"Of course not! I just - I wanted you to suffer romantically for a bit, but not  _ this _ !"

"Don't you feel sick when you're around me too?" She tilts her head.

"...no. I don't, actually."

"Because you cast the spell, right?"

Avery thinks for a moment, and then snorts. 

"Nope. It's because the spell specified man and woman, and I'm neither. So it doesn't apply to me." They grin.

"Is it really that...pedantic?"

"Oh it absolutely is. I was trying to dye my hair purple, and used the name of a flower in the spell. Didn't specify the exact type though, so I ended up with this." They pull a strand down to hold it in front of their eyes, glaring at the bright pink shade.

"I don't know, I quite like it."

"So you said before."

"Well, it was true." Leah smiles softly, and Avery smiles back. 

There's a pause, where the sounds of footsteps and singing birds are the only things filling the air. Avery takes a deep breath, and after a wavering moment speaks again.

"I'm sorry, Leah." Before she can respond, they hold up a hand to stop her. "Look, let me finish at least." They sigh. "I rather obviously shouldn't have cursed you, and not only because of the whole. Dad thing. I got irrationally angry, because you reminded me of someone I used to...know. So, I'm sorry." They finish and look up at Leah. She takes a moment to respond, and then smiles. 

"I accept your apology."

"Oh. Thank you."

"You're really not as bad as they say, you know."

"I know." They shrug. "I spread some of those rumours myself so people would stop coming to me for love potions."

"Do you not get lonely?" Leah asks, sounding genuinely curious.

"I was lonely already, bubbles. People came to me for love potions, sure, but it was always with thinly veiled threats. There's a reason I live in the middle of the woods - I got driven out of the town I was in before."

'I...didn't know that."

"Not your fault." Avery shrugs.

"We're friends though, right?"

"Sure thing." They laugh a little, and Leah smiles back. Silence falls again, but it feels comfortable, filled in at the edges, rather than harsh and pulled taut. 

It takes a few days, and then everything is ready. Avery hasn't slept for most of those days, but they don't tell Leah that. The princess herself arrives at their door bright and early, waking them up from where they'd fallen asleep with their face pressed into a book. They get up slowly, rubbing their eyes and half heartedly running a hand through their hair. They don't mind the pink so much anymore. 

"You can come in!" They call out, and Leah steps inside. "Morning, bubbles."

"Good morning!"

"I think I've got everything ready, I've got to finish something and then we'll be good to go."

"Oh. Uh, that's good." Leah sounds unsure of herself for a moment.

"It won't hurt or anything, don't worry. You'll be fine." Avery raises an eyebrow.

"Yes. Thank you." She shakes her head like she's clearing out thoughts, and sits down at the table.

"How are you?" Avery asks, while they cut up some faintly glowing red leaves. 

"Nervous, I think. I didn't sleep very well."

"Ah, me neither. The sleeping thing, I mean." There's a momentary pause, and then Leah speaks.

"I've very much enjoyed getting to know you, Avery."

"Yeah, you too. You're actually pretty cool."

"We will still see each other, right?"

"I mean, you can come out here and see me as often as you'd like. I don't know how much spare time you have when you get married, but we can still talk."

"That's good then."

"Yeah."

Half an hour later, the cast iron cauldron is filled with a layer of glittering pink liquid, which lights the room with shifting colours. Avery takes a cup, and fills it with the fluid before setting it on the table. 

"This is it, then."

"It is." Leah stares at the cup, fingers drumming on the table next to her. After a moment, she picks it up, clasping it between her hands and continuing to stare at its contents. "How fast does this work?" She asks, and Avery shrugs. 

"It should be instantaneous, really. I'm not sure though, I don't usually de-curse people, and it's even less frequent for love spells."

"Okay." She stares for a moment longer, and then drinks all of the liquid inside in one go. Deafening silence fills the cottage as she shifts in her seat, and looks up at Avery.

"It's instantaneous, yeah?"

"Should be."

"I  _ was _ right then." Leah smiles to herself, congratulatory. Avery blinks back.

"About what?"

"I don't need to go out and find someone random to marry."

"Why? Is your dad better, are you -"

"Because I think I'm in love with you." Leah puts the cup down, and stands up. Avery, for once in their life, can't think of anything to quip in return. Leah takes their hands.

"I feel like you understand. You wanted to listen to me complain even though I'm a princess and there's nothing for me to complain about. You gave me medicine for my dad even though you didn't like me, and you took the curse off me just because you felt bad. For a bit I thought it was just because there was nobody else, but that's not it. I really like you, Avery." She finishes her speech, smiling. Avery can't help but smile back, grasping Leah's hands.

"I can remotely undo curses." They say, like it's a confession. "I wanted to keep seeing you, so I hid the book. I - I really like you, too."

"Oh. Good." She takes a breath. "I'm going to kiss you now, is that okay?"

"Absolutely." Avery leans down, and Leah steps up on her toes, and their lips meet. Something in both of them shifts a little, falling perfectly into place as they embrace amid the glowing pink light of the cauldron. The light emanates from the house, stretching in soft wisps along the forest floor. 

The townspeople don't know what that means, but the kings in the castle do. Their daughter has found love, true love, and so has the witch.


End file.
